Tangerine Dream / In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979

This June, Universal Music will issue In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973 – 1979 a massive 18-disc Tangerine Dream collection.
Tangerine Dream were pioneers of electronic and ambient music and this box set features newly remastered versions of the albums Phaedra, Rubycon, Ricochet, Stratosfear, Encore, Cyclone and Force Majeure all drawn from the original first generation master tapes and and new Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes of Phaedra and Ricochet by Steven Wilson.

In Search of Hades includes eight CDs of previously unreleased material including two CDs of Phaedra outtakes, three London concerts in full (Victoria Palace Theatre in 1974, The Rainbow Theatre in 1974 and Royal Albert Hall in 1975) along with the previously unreleased full soundtrack to ‘Oedipus Tyrannus’, recorded in July 1974 (which is also on the blu-ray remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound and Stereo by Steven Wilson).

Due to what multi-track tapes were available Steven Wilson could only create stereo remixes of two tracks from Phaedra (the title track and ‘Sequent C’). Therefore for the 5.1 mix on the blu-ray, the other two tracks – ‘Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares’ and ‘Moments of a Visionary’ – are Penteo up-mixes (i.e. not ‘true’ 5.1 but according to SW these still sound “very good”).

Steven explains his approach below:

“My role was to create new stereo and 5.1 mixes of whatever could be found of the original album multitrack tapes, but that turned out to be only Ricochet and 2 tracks from Phaedra. However, a number of reels of unreleased music were also found, such that ‘In Search of Hades’ also includes a generous 8 CDs of previously unreleased material. Perhaps most notable amongst these is the previously unreleased full soundtrack to ‘Oedipus Tyrannus’ (75 minutes) recorded in July 1974. Extracts from these recording sessions have previously been included on Rubycon, Encore and the Virgin sampler album ‘V’, but the full 75 minute recording has for the first time been mixed in stereo and 5.1 for the box set.”

As well as the 5.1 mixes of Phaedra, Oedipus Tyrannus and Ricochet, the two blu-ray discs offer visual content in the form of a 1976 German TV performance and a 30 minute live recording of Tangerine Dream at Coventry Cathedral (The Old Grey Whistle Test).

The record label are calling this the “definitive statement of this period in Tangerine Dream’s history” and in terms of packaging this is presented as a 68-page hardback book featuring new sleeve notes, rare photographs and images of memorabilia.

In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979 is released on 14 June 2019.

As Steven Wilson himself said “As a big Tangerine Dream fan myself, I’ve waited a long time for a definitive set covering their classic period, so of course was very happy to be involved in putting this one together. If you are a fan too please note that, as with many of these lavish box set editions, it’s likely to be strictly a limited one-off pressing run, so don’t hesitate to pick it up!

You can pre-order this box set from the SDE shop via this link or the button below.

CD 1

‘Phaedra’ – released in 1974

Phaedra – (17.36)

Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares – (9.41)

Moments of a Visionary – (7.55)

Sequent C – (2.18)

Bonus tracks:

Phaedra (Steven Wilson stereo remix) (17.37)

Sequent C (Steven Wilson stereo remix) (2.21)

CD 2

‘November 1973 – Phaedra out-takes volume one’

2nd Day (20.31)

Flute Organ Piece (10.57)

Phaedra Out-Take version 2A (20.37)

All tracks previously unreleased

CD 3

‘November 1973 – Phaedra out-takes volume two’

Phaedra Out-Take 1 (11.43)

Phaedra Out-Take 2B (5.42)

2nd Side piece 1 (13.02)

2nd Side piece 2 (9.17)

Organ piece (5.49)

All tracks previously unreleased

CD 4

‘Live at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London – 16th June 1974’

The Victoria Palace Concert Part One (46.54)

Previously unreleased

CD 5

‘Live at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London – 16th June 1974’

The Victoria Palace Concert Part Two (28.16)

The Victoria Palace Concert – Encore (13.01)

Both tracks Previously unreleased

CD 6

‘Oedipus Tyrannus’ – recorded in July 1974

Overture (10.58)

Act 1 (16.42)

Act 2: Battle (10.05)

Act 2: Baroque (8.53)

Act 2: Zeus (5.39)

Act 3 (22.08)

All tracks previously unreleased

Mixed by Steven Wilson

CD 7

‘Live at the Rainbow, London – 27th October 1974’

Introduction by John Peel (2.36)

The Rainbow Concert Part One (36.51)

The Rainbow Concert Part Two (29.22)

All tracks previously unreleased

CD 8

‘Live at the Rainbow, London – 27th October 1974’

The Rainbow Concert Part Three (37.55)

The Rainbow Concert Encore (12.27)

Both tracks Previously unreleased

CD 9

‘Rubycon’ – released in 1975

Rubycon Part One (17.14)

Rubycon Part Two (17.35)

Bonus track:

Rubycon (extended introduction) (15.04)

Previously unreleased

Mixed by Steven Wilson

CD 10

‘The Royal Albert Hall, London 2nd April 1975’

The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Part One (1:10.33)

CD 11

‘The Royal Albert Hall, London 2nd April 1975’

The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Part Two (40.13)

The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Encore (13.46)

CD 12

‘Ricochet’ – released in 1975

Ricochet Part One (16.59)

Ricochet Part Two (21.04)

Bonus tracks:

Ricochet Part One (17.06)

Ricochet Part Two (21.21)

Both tracks Steven Wilson new stereo remixes

CD 13

‘Stratosfear’ – released in 1976

Stratosfear (10.33)

The Big Sleep in Search of Hades (4.27)

3am at the Border of the Marsh from Okefenokee (8.48)

Invisible Limits (11.25)

Bonus tracks:

Coventry Cathedral – The Original Film Soundtrack (34.02) – recorded 1975

Amazon baffle me! I ordered the set for £125.00 at the end June. Over nearly 2 months the delivery date kept changing getting pushed further and further back. On Tuesday I caught sight of the £58 deal on the Amazon website, ordered it, cancelled my original order and have just had the bargain deal order delivered today, 5 days later.

A poet from 6th century BC, Theognis of Megara wrote that “no man takes with him to Hades all his exceeding wealth”…

However, he had no chance of coming across the newly released Tangerine Dream box set… Both Theognis, and undoubtedly Hades, would approve of this wealth in one’s possession – if only they had the chance to listen to the 16 CDs and 2 BR discs of the Virgin recordings from 1973 to 1979…

In Search of Hades not only contains splendid remasters of Tangerine Dream classic albums from the 1973-1979 period, but also numerous previously unreleased tracks that are genuinely spellbinding. The Steven Wilson mixes and Ben Wiseman-remastered versions can be heralded as examples of how informed and sensitive remastering should be done, when we are flooded with countless remastered editions of classical albums that not only over-compress the original material, but may also genuinely massacre those… The Ricochet and Phaedra remastered versions notably also restored their original structure, with material that was either cut or misplaced in some previous releases.

In addition, for the first time one can hear quality recording of certain era-defining live appearances that TD fans so far only could hear in bootleg recordings and mono radio material of highly varying “quality”.

First fact to stress is that the previously unreleased material is not a mere pile of studio leftovers and obscure curiosities that stayed in dusty basements for good reason. Instead, they are astonishing electronic soundscapes that are not only musically, but also historically, significant.

The Phaedra Outtakes are of simply aching beauty, with gentle piano, flutes, strings, electronic swirls and indescribable sound effects all combining into subtle, sensitive sonic paintings that are at the same time cosmic and terrestrial, alien and human.

These recordings show again something that unashamedly biased (with good reason) TD fans have known for a long time: the way that Mellotrons are used by Tangerine Dream truly stands out, when compared to the ‘raw’ and typical Mellotron sounds found in countless electronic and progressive rock albums.

Among the included concert recordings, the Victoria Palace live appearance is particularly notable, as some remarked: it is an evolutionary ‘missing link’ between the sound world of Atem and that of Phaedra.

Not only we have here a group of fiercely innovative musicians improvising live, something that in electronic music cannot be understated, but the sonic gems of this concert have the ambient soundscapes, fluid and utterly sensitive meditations of what we could hear on the classics Zeit and Atem. These are seamlessly blending with the more melodic Mellotron strings and flutes, underpinned by tight pulsating sequencers, a novel and characteristic sound that on Phaedra became a global phenomenon.

This Victoria Palace concert is also perhaps the most audible example of the heroics that some may take for granted nowadays: one can hear how the sequencers are drifting out of tune, how the jamming musicians make this process an organic part of their improvisations and we also hear how the naughty analogue equipment is being tamed again, with on-the-fly re-tuning.

The other two London concerts, at The Rainbow Room and of course the Royal Albert Hall appearance, are connecting us more with the sound world we know from Phaedra and Rubycon perhaps, but here, too we have ample improvised compositions firmly rooted in a unique variant of space / ambient music that Tangerine Dream have unleashed on audiences well before ambient was called ambient…

In the fiery sequencer patterns we already hear elements of what Ricochet was to be, as a supreme example of Berlin School wizardry that stood the test of time. One can defy modular enthusiasts and sequencer magicians of 2019 to even replicate or emulate the astonishing sequencing present on these recordings from more than four decades ago.

The concert recordings show musicians achieving something in the 1970s that is rare even today, despite the mainstream position that some genres of electronic music occupy nowadays in major live performances and festivals. These live recordings are simply humbling: one has to clash with, and firmly realise, one’s own limited human abilities, when trying to even follow the intricate multi-layered details swirlingly unleashed on us by these musicians.

Here we have largely improvised jams spanning, and seamlessly combining, distant corners of many different galaxies of electronic music. Actually playing multiple layers of intricate patterns emerging from fiendishly unstable analogue sequencers, instead of static repetitive patterns that many even now think sequencers are for? Of course, why not. Seamlessly blending spacey electronic atmospheres with gentle, almost fragile flutes and strings, piano textures and human voice? Of course, why not? Do taped strings pushed through phasers and modulated effects sit at home with pulsating Berlin School patterns of a very ordered and structured Universe? Sure.

Clearly, above is a far from exhaustive overview of the box set, but even if one omits mentions and reactions to the vast amount of musical material of this treasure chest, the Oedipus Tyrannus simply must be mentioned.

This is perhaps one of the, if not the, most mythical Tangerine Dream albums. It only existed in various unofficial forms, in highly variable (but consistently low) quality versions and it gained a mythical status not only due to these factors, but also because it contains a monumental electronic suite.

The epic material takes us from the avantgarde atmospherics of the Overture to the mind-blowing sequencers of the Battle to the playful melodic inventions of Baroque (latter actually being more of a Renaissance-era slow dance if one wishes to be knit-picking, when listening to the characteristic melodic lines). It further shows, as if there was any need, that Tangerine Dream has been and remains quintessential to the history of not just one genre or sub-genre of electronic music, but to the history of electronic music, full stop.

The range of music on just this box set shows how they have remained influential for vast arrays of electronic music ranging from most avantgarde and experimental ambient to the most mainstream sub-genres.

So what would be the single central characteristic of this vast collection of music released in this box set? Can one condense into a single word all the breathtaking and fiery improvisations, delicate and fragile melodic inventions, vibrations of star systems from distant outer space, waves and fluid motions of unidentifiable liquids, swirls and storms of strange aethers?

Most definitely, and Tangerine Dream fans can put it down as nothing surprising, long-known by them and merely re-enforced by the proofs in this box set:

But… there are some glaring omissions and errors in the book, for one Monique Froese is not even mentioned for the album artwork and the numerous photos she took of the band. I know the Jerome Froese was pretty p*ssed off at this one, all that credit has gone to someone called Phil Smee. (Monique Froese gets one paltry mention for Encore). The info regarding how Franke acquired the Moog is wrong as well, he didn’t get it from Florian Fricke as that one was purchaed by Klaus Schulze. Whoever did the text for the book should have done a bit more research and proof read it. As for the discs get some of those Japanese poly sleeves to protect them from scratching. All in all though a brilliant one off box set release.

Maybe I was looking forward to this too much, but as I sit here with a beer/Doritos and Phaedra on, I’m a bit disappointed.

It’s a nice set and I can’t wait to play the live stuff but the way the discs are presented is poor.

It has those flat ‘slots’ that you have to slide the disc out and risk scratching the CD.

The housing for the discs is also a bit lightweight. Shame they didn’t put each disc in a reproduction sleeve.
First World problems as they say but I am a little disappointed with this….luckily, I love the albums.

I agree. Terrible packaging. Why they couldn’t have placed the lot in slip sleeves like they have the blu-rays, I don’t know.

Oedipous is scuffed, but thankfully plays through. Stratosfear has a scratch, but thankfully only affects the ‘single edit’ of ‘Big sleep in the search of hades’ at the end of that disc, so not worth returning.

Aside from that, the remasters (and Wilson remixes, where applicable) are divine.

I only know of TD via Christopher Franke due to him writing the music for the Babylon 5 TV Series. I’ve been interested in checking them out, but have no idea where to start. Can anyone point me to some songs?

It is very hard, because every album is different till the 90’s. Fans usually agree that there was a golden era on the mid 70’s and a second one on the first half of the 80’s. Imho try the trinity of Phaedra-Rubycon-Ricochet, and than the Tangram-Exit-White Eagle-Logos-Poland.

It’s amazing the difference in value that you get with a CD/Blu Ray box set like this compared with vinyl. Most vinyl box sets are merely digital files pressed on plastic – not sounding a whole lot different from their CD counterparts but significantly more expensive. This looks absolutely marvelous: I have really enjoyed Steven Wilson’s 5.1 remixes of King Crimson and XTC (amongst others). How does he find the time…..

BR is more widespread than SACD. Likely more wouldn’t be able to use SACD than the BRs. Just glad they didn’t use lossy DVD. Would have been nice to have all discs in hi-res though, even the stereo material. But again sales would be harmed if it were all BR or SACD. By making it 16 CD and 2 BR fans without ability to play BR still feel they are getting value for money.

Hi Paul,
Firstly congratulations on the SDE site and associated activities – I have been an avid reader for years. I would love to order the Tangerine Dream box set from the SDE site, but the 80 pounds delivery cost to Australia is way too much money for me – it would make the box set $379 Australia which is nearly double the cost from other sites. Secondly, why is there no pre-order available from Amazon US? Being from Australia, we are prevented from ordering from Amazon UK (Amazon Australia has a limited range – often, orders of box sets of this nature are fulfilled by Amazon US).
Cheers
Neil

I have pre ordered my copy in anticipation of the fulfilment of a life long quest since 1974, of obtaining a clean clear stereo copy of Oedipus Tyrannus in full.
I heard the initial broadcast on John Peel’s Radio 1 programme, on a portable radio whilst on holiday, my Teac stereo cassette deck and Sony FM tuner, miles away at home!
In 1976, Alan Freeman played Baroque from this broadcast, 95% of which I managed to capture on cassette tape. Can I say that one track on tape sounds cleaner and clearer than any bootleg CD of the same, purchased in hope and in good faith, in the vain hope of obtaining a decent audio recording.

are there any plans for a similar box set in the future with material coming from 1980 – 1983, the last virgin years and Johannes Schmoelling era?
I’d love to see Tangram, Pergamon, Thief, Exit, White Eagle, Logos and Hyperborea all newly remastered, with some extra stuff and outtakes.

The actual concert sound has never been broadcast. Richard Branson scrapped the original soundtrack and turned it into an advert for `Ricochet’, none of which was recorded there. As the concerts were improvised, this is quite important. The original concert sound was considered to be lost until now. There is also some confusion regarding the original broadcast on BBC2. It was NOT an OGWT show, it was simply a standalone show called `Tangerine Dream at Coventry Cathedral’ broadcast on a Sunday night on BBC2 (at the same time as the newly popular `Fawlty Towers’, which caused ructions in my household as there were no video recorders back then. Little did we know there would be so many subsequent re-runs of Fawlty that we’d know every episode backwards. Luckily I got to see the TD broadcast, and my life was suitably changed forever !) . To further add to the confusion, there is a version of the Coventry Cathedral DVD being bandied about in ever more desperate packaging by Gonzo Multimedia purporting to carry the original concert sound. It doesn’t ! They even tried dubbing `Rubycon’ over it last time…be very aware !

Why is the Royal Albert Hall show in this set? It’s already out in the Bootleg Box 1 so we don’t need it again. I’d love to have the full Oedipus Tyranus set and the two 1974 shows though but can’t justify £125.

The version used on ISOH is totally different, it’s now in stereo, direct from the Manor Mobile soundboard tape and with the complete intro from John Peel for the very first time. It was mixed by Phil Newell in 1974.

The Royal Albert Hall aside from being in stereo for the first time, is also complete for the first time. The last ten minutes of part one are missing from the BBC tape, and all issued versions (it was patched up with an audience recording) so there’s another reason, not that they needed one. There are also another 2 discs of unreleased recordings from the `Phaedra’ sessions. People will of course always come out with the same tedious `it was unreleased for a reason’ comment, but the fact is that short playing time LP’s didn’t allow for that much music to be issued back in the day. The band were even said to have been unhappy with the `Oedipus’ music, when you hear it you will definitely wonder why !

In response to CJLs concern about the CDs getting scratched removing them from their pockets, the problem can be solved by purchacing the Clear Poly CD Sleeves that one gets in those excellent Japanese Mini CD discs. My 18 disc John Martyn boxset is a similar design where the discs slide into cardboard pockets, I just purchased a pack of 200 Japanese cd inner sleeves and they fit perfectly into the pockets stopping the CDs from getting scratched. I did find it cheaper ordering them from Japan especially if ordering quite a few, Plus I’ve now used quite a few in other boxsets where boxsets have this type of design, I’ve also used these sleeves in the Beatles and Pink Floyd cardboard CD covers with No Digipac inlay trays. Can’t remember which place I ordered them from but I think I either found them through ebay or somewhere like Amazon…….BUT from a Japanese dealer.

I can remember in the late 80’s / early 90’s some CD card sleeve singles came with a cloth inner bag. They were very rare and I never did find a supplier as I wanted to put all my CD card sleeve singles in them. And I haven’t seen any since.

Those coloured “Red Dragon” Virgin labels looks great as Disc labels.
“V” was one of my favourite finds back in the day as a “just about to turn teenager” obsessed with all things Virgin and Oldfield and a “find” in pre-internet days is way more exciting than just checking eBay. Reddington’s Rare Records in Birmingham 1979 I think. It was my first exposure to Tangerine Dream and then I found out my future Brother in Law had a copy of Phaedra (and my first exposure to Oxygene). These things last in the mind.
BTW it took me until only a few years ago to realize that the hand on the front cover of “V” has six fingers. D’oh.

This is an absolute feast of material!
Whilst it is disappointing that Virgin EMI seem to have lost the multitracks of most of these albums (!) the revelation that they have soundboard recordings of several gigs from 1974/75 is a total delight – no longer must we make do with some god-awful mono audience recording from a tape-recorder stashed in some hippy’s armpit :-D
I am also intrigued to hear what the remaster of Encore sounds like, as the audio quality on previous releases was a mess.
Oh and what happened to Nick Mason’s ill-fated mix of Stratosfear, that Edgar’s autobiography tantalised us with? lmao

Paul this boxset is not showing for sale anywhere else
on Amazon they have live at Coventry cathedral in 1975 as a lavish box set
for delivery in may. Why so many releases of this period all of a sudden?
Seems strange is it a definite that you will have it for sale.Just wondering
no criticism inferred.

Steven Wilson remixes is certainly a good thing. Only two albums in 5.1. is a little poor, at least for the hard core collectors who will have at least the live recordings. So adding this to the expectable quality of the remix this is ok not a real bargain. But as a TD collection I bough much more unreasonable things…

Not to forget: Paul, respect for your growing shop, I am pleased it contains some important progressive treasures. Unfortunately it becames more and more pricey to pay postage when delivered to the continent. Brexit won’t do any better.

There are three albums in 5.1 – PHAEDRA, RICOCHET and OEDIPUS TYRANNUS.

The live 1974 concert recording come straight from the Manor Mobile so are soundboard recordings better than anything available, the recording of the Royal Albert Hall in 1975 (again recorded by the Manor Mobile) is available for the first time in Stereo, complete and contains the full introduction by John Peel.

Super stoked to get this, been a Tangs fan for over 30 years! Looking forward to hearing the unreleased Phaedra sessions and the full Oedipus disc plus the 3 recorded manor mobile concerts. I wonder if the music on that youtube video of TD in the Manor in 75 is in those outtakes (as it sounds very Rubycon-esque!)

This is an automatic purchase for me so I will admit to whining and nit-picking, BUT
…I really wish they’d gone one album further because Tangram is one of my real favourites and I’d love to hear a SW mix.

I have just seen this and have always been a massive TD fan so went straight to order and you can’t! How disappointing. Will it definitely be available later and is there a reason it’s been pulled? Keep up the good work on SDE.

Thanks to all who commented with advice on this set – looks like I’m going to be £125 poorer! Great to see (as ever) this site acting as a community of music lovers eager to share their love of great bands and albums, and not being a sniffy *oh look at this chap who doesn’t know anything about [insert band name here]* – thanks again.

Just to point out that the 2/4/75 Albert Hall concert has been previously released on The Bootleg Box Set Vol 1. But that was bootleg quality, albeit listenable. I wonder if these are soundboard recordings?

And a couple of subjective comments. Personally I find Phaedra quite unique in their catalogue. It’s almost pastoral. It’s sublime. From Rubycon onwards the sequencers are really to the fore and by Stratosfear they are performing compositions as opposed to improvisations. It’s a subtle difference.
But Ricochet and Rubycon are stunning so anyone in doubt about purchasing, just go for it. Then buy the earlier Ohr albums because they are even better.
And there is nothing bad about Cyclone; it’s great big dumb over the top fun. Atypical, but the second side is instrumental so win win.

The RAH is NEW – as in Recorded by the Manor Mobile in Stereo (every release has been in mono so far) and mixed by Phil Newell in 1975 (so, yes soundboard). It also has the full intro by John Peel (again unlike any other release)

Andy K… I hope it will be the FULL Royal Albert Hall show from ’75. I remember the first edition of the Bootleg Box had a part missing, replacement discs were issued *very kindly) and when the Bootleg Box got another reissue, the same piece of music was missing again…. heres hoping.

I have no idea where I’m going to get £125 from, but I’m going to have to pick this up. Not interested in the 5.1 stuff, but the presence of unreleased material from this era is going to be worth it alone.

Really hoping we get a similar set for the second half of the Virgin years, which are a bit underappreciated in my view – Johannes’s melodic sense was incredible, and Tangram & Hyperborea are my two favourite TD records. I’d happily take a box of this magnitude based on the ‘Pink’ and ‘Blue’ years too, but I can’t see them coming. Esoteric have re-released that material so many times now I can’t help thinking we’d have had the extra material if it was forthcoming.

so the Definitive Edition Cd’s were not quite so definitive.
who am i kidding, I’m a TD nut, i’ll be buying this.
i’ve got the original virgin vinyl, and the CD’s already.
Looks like they’ve mopped up the exclusive tracks from the 70-80 box set as well.
Esoteric did a great job with the pre/post virgin material (although i’d still like to hear an unfiddled with ‘green desert’, and the two live bootleg boxes that came out a few years ago

Been so impatient for the details on this one to be released – and not disappointed now they have. Great price when you consider the likes of the Rush Hemispheres box currently around £155 on Amazon UK. As others have alluded to reason for lack of more 5.1 mixes down to missing multi-track tapes.

Amazing set.
As this climaxes with the excellent Force Majeure, I am hoping this means we will get a second set in the future, as this stops immediately before Johannes Schmoelling joins the band (by far my favourite era – i.e.. the melodic era :-D)

I’m a bit of a newbie when it comes to Tangerine Dream, and confess I only got into them by hearing ‘Phaedra’ on the ‘Bandersnatch’ episode of ‘Black Mirror’ around Xmas time, so only have limited experience of them (loved what I’ve heard so far)…saying that, I love Kraftwerk and other German ‘krautrock’ bands – can anyone give some advice in terms of whether the rest of the material in this box (apart from the unreleased stuff which I presume nobody has heard…) is similar to ‘Phaedra’ in terms of sound? £125 is a price I would pay but would like to know a bit more before I dive in – there’s always Spotify to preview stuff I guess, but unsure how much of this box is on ‘streaming’ services. Thanks

Yes it is. The Tangs were masters of ambient electronics, and early use of sequencers. If you like Phaedra then my guess is you love the rest of their output from this, their finest period. They did put their foot in it with the Cyclone album however, bringing in vocalist Steve Jolliffe which did not go down well at all. All the other albums are purely instrumental.
As for the Sorcerer soundtrack, that was issued by MCA, although I am sure that Universal could of got hold of it and included especially as the film got a Blu Ray release last year. I don’t think that the s/t is currently available.
I already have the previous collections 1974-1978 and 1977-1983, but after going carefully through the track listings have decided that this is very much a must have. It’s the first release of this year to appear on SDE that has got me really hyped, and as soon as I have got RSD payed off (!) I will be placing an order for it. Excellent stuff throughout. I just wonder whether there will be a second set to cover the remain Virgin era up to 1983?

I’m in the same boat as simonf, I’m a newbie to the ‘Tangs (as I’m sure nobody calls them) and my collection is pretty much the 1974-78 box as that seems to be the only thing the High street stocks. If this was all new (to me) stuff like the 69-73 and post 74-78 I’d be on it, I just need to convince myself I do need it (and a 5.1 set up…)

Hi Peter. If you have just discovered them through Black Mirror/Phaedra, then I would dive in to this box unreservedly. There are 2 further discs of `Phaedra’ sessions for a start. The `Oedipus’ soundtrack is very much in the same style, and `Rubycon’ is very much the next step if you liked Phaedra. There are 3 entire live concerts issued for the first time (RAH 75 is a newly found recording of a previously issued concert) which are again very much in the `Phaedra’ mould. You may not know this being new to TD, but at this time they didn’t simply go out and play the albums, they actually improvised each concert, which means there is some exciting new music on the way even for the diehards. Over the rest of the box you can see which directions they took from there…but I’d say that this box really centres around the `Phaedra’ style of music making.

Chris Richards: Yes apparently a stereo version of the Royal Albert Hall 1975 recorded by the Manor Mobile has been unearthed and was in good condition. It even includes the full intro by John Peel. As it was actually me who liberated the BBC version heard on the Bootleg Box, it’s the end of an era for that recording, but it has served it’s purpose well over the last 30 years or so ! I haven’t heard the new version but am told by those in the know that it’s as good as good gets !

Peter
This is the majestic era of Tangerine Dream with mellow sequencers and guitars, mellotron and piano. The years in the late 80’s-90’s became a bit rythmic and drum machines killed it for me.
Phaedra, Stratosfear, Rubycon are classics and Encore and Ricochet are amazingly melodic live albums.
Then start checking out Radio Massacre International, Steve Roach and Free System Projekt….glorious late night music

Nice, nice, very nice. While I prefer TD’s Ohr years for pure creativity (ahhhh, to hear Steven Wilson 5.1 mixes of ‘Zeit’, ‘Atem’, ‘Alpha Centauri’) this looks like a great release, if less than complete (e.g. no ‘Tangram’, ‘Exit’, ‘White Eagle’ from the Virgin years). It’s a shame that multitrack tapes weren’t available to do a 5.1 mix of ‘Rubicon’ (but damn, that Steven Wilson is one busy man is he not?). The extras look great, and I’m up for any TD music pre-’75 or so. Some years back Japan released much of the Virgin TD catalogue on ‘mini lp’, but also stopped at ‘Force Majeure’. The last run of these was SACD format, but these were DSD stereo mixes rather than 5.1 surround. Ahhh, for 5.1 of Edgar Froese’s ‘Epsilon in Malaysian Pale’? ‘Aqua’? ‘Macula Transfer’ even. Well, if you’re gonna dream then you might as well dream in colour, right?

At least this will be issued unlike the ill fated ‘Live at Coventry Cathedral 1975’ DVD box set from PledgeMusic. I can’t see them ever putting out any product ever again. I bet director Tony Palmer is absolutely steaming mad. When I see him next time I will ask him!

Coventry (the Gonzo version) is the same old awful thing from years back with the wrong music on it. A really deluxe version is coming out through Nova, but there’s no differrence – don’t waste your money.